


Nevermore

by Trickstress



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Curses, F/M, Gen, Geoff is a merchant, He's finally not king for once, Sorcerers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-04-18 01:30:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14202081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trickstress/pseuds/Trickstress
Summary: Geoff was just a simple merchant trying to make his way in the world. When he sets off for a new land only known in fairy tales, he meets new friends and allies while trying to solve a mystery centuries in the making.





	1. A Gold Piece for your Thoughts?

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooooo I got bit by the story bug and I'm all about switching things up so take some merchant medieval Geoff~
> 
> Thanks to Drakanin, Hawkward, and Lilly_Manchester for helping me plan, come up with titles, and read over my stuff ahead of time so it's coherent.

_Once upon a time there was a kingdom and in this kingdom, there ruled a king, his queen, and their two sons._

_The king was firm but just while the Queen was beautiful and kind. Everything that a kingdom would ever need or want. The princes often got into trouble either together or because of the other, but that was to be expected of children still in their single digits._

_The princes grew up in a time of peace and prosperity, never truly worrying about the fate of the kingdom except for in their studies._

_War never touched the kingdom, however threats do not always come from outside one’s borders._

_What was special about this kingdom was that there were beings known as sorcerers. Each well versed in different magics and knowledge. In this tale, there was a sorcerer who envied the crown, believing himself to be much wiser than the King of Peace. And so, the sorcerer managed to get into the castle using his tricks and cunning. No one knows for sure what happened to the King and Queen, but they were never seen again._

_As for the princes, the sorcerer has another plan. These boys had done nothing to raise his ire, and to keep one would ensure his rule on the throne since he would be able to control the heir. Therefore, he held a competition._

_The loser be released, but banished from the kingdom, cursed to never reveal what had happened or who he truly was. The winner would be at the will of the sorcerer._

_The elder beat the younger mercilessly, not wanting his younger brother to be trapped by the sorcerer. So, the sorcerer cast his curse on the younger so he would never tell of what happened, and commanded the elder to banish him._

_The younger prince wandered for decades, never able to reveal what had happened, but servants of the castle had witnessed what had happened and fled into the night, whispering tales of what had happened._

_The elder prince was never seen again, for no one saw what the sorcerer had done to the heir. Some say that the sorcerer forced him to hand him the throne and did away with him. Others say he was locked in the deepest chamber of the castle, left alive so the sorcerer’s rule would continue._

_No one knows what happened to the sorcerer. It was if he disappeared into thin air. The brother of the King of Peace took the throne for the royal family had been destroyed in one night. Centuries passed, and magic users soon became extinct, and this tale turned into legend, something to warn children of at night to scare them away from magic.  
Either way, the Kingdom of Taera never again lived in the same kind of peace and never learned the fate of their royal family, even to this day…_

“Burnie, you asshole, I didn’t pay you a gold piece to get a bedtime story! I wanted some actual information about the kingdom i’m going to go trade in!”

“Well Geoff, you never were specific about what you wanted to know. Hand over the gold.”

Geoff Ramsey was a traveling merchant. He had wandered through dozens of different lands, and sometimes different continents to make his living. Even growing up, he was constantly traveling since he picked up his business from his father when the older man finally retired. 

Now, the thirty-four year old was about to embark on another journey, this time to the Kingdom of Taera, of which he had never visited before. Not many of the traveling merchants had gone there due to some old superstitions, but that wasn’t going to stop Geoff. That was why he asked his old friend Burnie, another traveling businessman, about the kingdom.

What he got wasn’t what he was expecting though, considering his ‘old friend’ charged him a gold piece for it.

“You’re a grade A asshole, Burnie Burns.”

“You say that like none of us aren’t, Geoff. It’s how you survive in this business.”

“Here here!” A man from across the tavern toasted to Burnie and Geoff glared at him.

“Shut the fuck up Gus!”

He received two middle fingers up in return.

“Anyways,” Burnie continued, “it’s not like any of us have gone in there. Everyone who has ends up breaking some random minuscule law and disappears off the face of the earth. The only reason we know that is because Joel managed to send off a letter telling me about it before we didn’t hear from him or Matt again.

“The world just has that fairytale and that’s all we know. So gimme the gold and if you’re so interested, go looking yourself. I’m sure as hell not going.”

Geoff let out a sigh and attempted to flick the gold piece towards his lifelong friend but fumbled it, causing it to fall to the ground. He grumbled as he got up, flipping off Gus and Burnie who were chuckling at him as he headed to his wagon.

He was currently in the city of Maira, the trade capitol in the east of the kingdom he was currently working in, Halberth. The kingdom was known for their gemstones and precious metals, being so mountainous and the people were as steadfast as the region they called home. It was prime territory for merchants and Geoff was certainly one of them. He often returned there when sales weren’t doing as well in the other kingdoms since he knew a number of people here and at least would do a pity sale if he had fallen on tough times.

This time though, Geoff was doing great and his business was booming which meant he was ready for a challenge.

It was why he had seriously considering traveling to the kingdom of Taera. The place was pretty much a complete mystery. No one had left the border for a few centuries since members of the royal staff had fled, causing the wild stories to be spread. The last to enter was the royal procession of Prince Alfredo, third in line to the throne after the two sons of King Trevor. He had been out seeking his own fortune and glory when he heard word that his brother’s family had been gone missing. Prince Alfredo apparently then became king and his line was the one that continued. Every once in a while a princess would be requested to wed one of their princes, but whenever one went in, they never were seen again.

That’s not to say that it was a dangerous place. Apparently it was supposed to be one of the most peaceful places to be. They held trade agreements with many other kingdoms through political marriages. They traded, but no one ever saw them do it. The kingdom’s wares would appear at the castles they held agreements with without warning and out of nowhere. It’s what lended to the fairytale of a sorcerer now ruling the land. No one crossed the border, for there was supposedly a ferocious beast that prevented those from entering. Too many strange coincidences in Geoff’s opinion, but he had seen stranger things. 

Besides, mages and sorcerers had died out over a hundred years ago due to a powerful spell that seemed to cull them all in one swoop. No one found out who was the cause of it, but Magic was the stuff of legend.

“Heh, Magic evil sorcerer and missing princes. All I’m looking for is a new place to explore and plenty of coin for my pocket.”

With that, Geoff headed to his wagon to begin his new journey.


	2. The Gate of Taera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A weary Geoff Ramsey reaches the border of Taera and holy fuck is it terrifying.

As Geoff traveled down the long and winding road to the forgotten kingdom, he began to notice the landscape shift around him.

What was sprawling hills with gently waving grass and blue skies gently caressing the green tree tops of the mountains became more and more dull and lifeless. The radiant colors of Halberth were dimming to nearly monochrome as he reached the border. The lush wildlife withering away into husks that warned travelers of what was to come. A fog had rolled in, dancing around him and his cart as his horse whinnied nervously.

“Shit, no wonder people talk about how creepy the place is if this is how you get in.” Geoff said as he drew his cloak closer around himself. It felt as if a chill was slowly climbing up his spine. The foreboding that the legend had hinted at was nearly triple the amount that Geoff thought when he was getting so close in person.

It took him two days from Maira to reach the border. The closer he got, the more he was beginning to regret his decision to essentially take an unspoken dare from Burnie to go there. If Geoff wasn’t so stubborn, he would have already left back to the tavern hours ago.

Finally, the man spotted a forest up ahead with a large rundown stone gate at it’s edge. There were no doors, nor any sort of wall branching off of it, but the trees stood in their grim watch.

This was the border.

The entrance to Taera.

“Motherfucking hell. This place is creepy as dicks.” Geoff groaned as he ran a hand over his face. It was now or never he supposed. As he urged his horse onward, the mare was not happy in the slightest, only taking a few steps and then stopping until urged again. Finally, she refused to move about fifty feet from the border.

“Mystery, come on honey. Once we get through here, it’ll be smooth sailing, I promise.” Geoff cooed, but the horse did not take a single step closer. With another refusal, the man sighed and slid off his cart, going up to his horse.

“Any sort of bribe that you’d accept? Sugar cubes? Finding you a nice stallion so you can enjoy as much dick as you want? Anything?” His companion snorted in his face and he groaned in response. A loud and sudden noise caught both of their attentions however and they stood stock still before Geoff turned around towards the gate.

The shrieking coming from the woods had his hair stand on end in it’s desperate call. Mystery stomped and meant to turn to escape but Geoff grabbed her reins and tried to calm her down.

“It’s alright, girl. It’s freaky as dicks but nothing I can’t handle.” He cooed, trying to not show his own fear. It wouldn’t help in this situation at all.

They both tensed when they heard the cry again, this time a bit closer. Geoff creeped forward, grabbing his pistol he kept in case of bandits, headed towards the ancient gate. There, he spotted what had made the noise and let out a sigh of relief.

“Dude, you scared the everloving shit out of me.” Geoff said with a laugh. Right in the other side of the gate was a raven sprawled out on the ground. It’s right wing was bent at slightly unnatural angle and seemed to be the cause of the pain.

Geoff ran back to his cart and grabbed his satchel that had all of his essentials including, most importantly his medical supplies. He returned back to the entrance of the gate.

“Alrighty buddy, let’s get you fixed up-“

“Turn back.”

Geoff froze, a step front the gate as a chill blanketed him in his shock. He looked at the bird who stared at him dead in the eyes.

“What.” Geoff asked, staring the bird down. There was no way…

“Turn back.” The raven croaked and there was something pleading in its eyes. Geoff was now honest to god freaked out.

“Okay you creepy fucker: either I’m gonna help you out or you’re gonna die so stop being so fucking creepy and let me help you.”

The raven squawked again and Geoff had a feeling that it was one of annoyance.

“Can’t leave!” It crowed, “Can’t leave! Nevermore!” The Bird flapped its wings and let out a noise of pain from where it laid on the ground. The dumb bird was just getting more and more upset and injured.

Geoff finally had enough.

“Alright dumbass.” He grumbled and crossed through the gate. 

The feeling was like having a bucket of cold water thrown directly onto his soul. The man let out a gasp but quickly shook himself off and headed over to the injured raven.

“Okay dipshit, how did you hurt yourself?” He muttered as he carefully approached. The raven stared at him, making eye contact before bobbing its head and settling down. Geoff took this as an acceptance and quickly got to work.

The wing was sprained, not entirely broken but had enough damage to warrant a hastily made splint. The raven uttered apologies after apologies as the merchant worked. 

“Boy, you sure are smart as hell for a bird.”

“You are smart for a human.”

Geoff flared at the smug creature in front of him and let out a huff.

“Piece of shit, I could’ve let you suffer in here but noooo. I played the hero and now I’m getting shit talked by a bird.” He groaned as he stood up. He wasn’t exactly the young eighteen year old he was when he started his business, and his body felt it necessary to remind him of that fact.

“Okay bird-brain. I just gotta get something real quick and then you’ll be good to go.”

Geoff walked toward the gate, striding confidently towards his cart when suddenly he was whacked in the face and dropped like a rock, clutching his face.

“Motherfucker! Who the fuck did that?! Did you fucking trick me you piece of shit feather duster?!” Geoff yelled angrily, clutching his nose which seemed to hurt the most. Geoff looked up but quieted down when he realized that nothing was there. The fog still curled around him like the ocean waves he had watched so long ago in his childhood. 

Cautiously, the merchant stood up again and tried to pass through the gate once more only to be stopped in his tracks.

It was as if an invisible wall was keeping him from the path he had journeyed on. He rested his hand against it, the barrier feeling completely smooth but he looked down to see the fog curling effortlessly through it. 

With a surge of anger, Geoff let out a mighty kick and screamed in rage and pain as his foot felt as if it had been run over by his cart. Screaming obscenities, he was suddenly distracted by the loud sound coming from the path. 

Geoff’s explosive rage had spooked Mystery and the horse had turned tail and fled, the cart and his wares still attached securely.

“Mystery! Come back! You stupid horse, I love you and if you love me you’ll come back!” He cried, but he watched helplessly as the horse and cart disappeared out of sight. He heard a small noise behind him, and turned around slowly to face the cause of this whole mess.

“You.”

The bird squawked at the rage that was pouring off Geoff who began to stomp his was back over and grabbed the bird and held it up to his face.

“What the fuck did you do.” The man growled and the bird swallowed in response.

“Can’t return. Nevermore. A warning.” It responded quietly. Geoff stared at it a moment, regarding it’s words before groaning and slumping to the ground.

“Well. I’m stuck here now and those stories are looking like there’s a bit more to it than people thought.” He sighed and set the bird down next to him. The large bird stared at him for a moment before deciding that the bag next to them was infinitely more interesting and began to stick it’s head in it.

“The fuck are you doing?”

“Food?” The muffled voice answered and Geoff let out a cry of distress.

“You fuck! You get the fuck out of there I swear to god!”

He may be trapped in a completely unknown land with weird invisible walls and freaky talking birds, but if he were to say something about this moment, it would feel like the amazing, yet fucking scary, start to a new adventure.


End file.
